Yardbarker: Reeves Nelsonhttp://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/players/reeves_nelson/121063
Recent articles about Reeves Nelsonen-usReport: Reeves Nelson to sue SIFormer UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson plans to sue Sports Illustrated (SI) over an article that described him as being physically violent at team practices and claimed he urinated on a teammate's bed.
Nelson, who was dismissed from the team in December for disciplinary reasons, will file the defamation lawsuit against the magazine Wednesday, seeking $10 million in damages, according to TMZ.com.
The article -- published in March -- painted Bruins head coach Ben Howland as having lost control of the program in recent years, but singled out Nelson for persistent bad behavior, including allegations of rough play during practices that left some of his teammates injured.
The article also claimed Nelson urinated on former Bruins forward Tyler Honeycutt's "bed and clothes" after suspecting he had told coaching staff about players' plans to go out partying.
The lawsuit reportedly claims as many as 18 current and former UCLA players have denied the allegations, including Honeycutt, who said, "Nelson did not p23 May 2012 14:06:19 -0400http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/report_reeves_nelson_to_sue_si/s1_8864_10857284
http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/report_reeves_nelson_to_sue_si/s1_8864_10857284Report: Reeves Nelson to sue SIhttp://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/report_reeves_nelson_to_sue_si/s1_8864_10857284http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.pngReeves Nelson says SI took apology out of context, almost all stories are false
Reeves Nelson already had a bad reputation for being kicked off the UCLA basketball team for poor behavior, but what remained of it was shredded by a damning article published in Sports Illustrated this week. Reeves reacted swiftly and hired a lawyer who sent a letter to SI demanding a retraction. He continued the damage control with an interview on NBC Los Angeles Thursday night.
In the interview, Nelson says Sports Illustrated writer George Dohrmann took his remorseful apology out of context. He also says almost all the stories in the article are false.
“My attitude towards the team and the program as a whole just was very immature,” Nelson said of the behavior that led to his dismissal. “I was defiant, I walked out of a team practice without coach’s permission, I missed a team flight to Maui — which obviously doesn’t look good — you never want to do. And then, I think the final straw was when I was just showing disrespect by laughing on the bench at the end of a loss against Texas.
“That’s why I02 Mar 2012 07:30:25 -0500http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/reeves_nelson_says_si_took_apology_out_of_context_almost_all_stories_are_false/s1_127_10213342
http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/reeves_nelson_says_si_took_apology_out_of_context_almost_all_stories_are_false/s1_127_10213342Reeves Nelson says SI took apology out of context, almost all stories are falsehttp://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/reeves_nelson_says_si_took_apology_out_of_context_almost_all_stories_are_false/s1_127_10213342http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.pngReeves Nelson hires lawyer who demands retraction from SI for pointing out Reeves was jerkSports Illustrated did in one article what Ben Howland could not accomplish in three years: hold Reeves Nelson accountable for being a jerk. SI exposed Nelson for being a bully who injured teammates during practice, fought them, and intimidated them, all without coach Ben Howland saying anything. Howland chose to play Nelson over other talented players, causing at least one player to transfer (Mike Moser, who’s now starring at UNLV). Howland’s lack of discipline resulted in another talented player transferring (Matt Carlino, now starring at BYU) because he was constantly bullied. After Reeves’ troublemaker ways became too much, Howland finally kicked him off the team. By then the damage was done, and choosing to allow Reeves to run free hurt the program the past few years and this season.
Nelson actually confirmed the bullying incidents to SI and seemed to take responsibility for his actions.
Nelson confirmed all these incidents to SI and expressed his regret, saying, “On all that stuff, I have no trouble a01 Mar 2012 21:20:48 -0500http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/reeves_nelson_hires_lawyer_who_demands_retraction_from_si_for_pointing_out_reeves_was_jerk/s1_127_10211290
http://network.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/article_external/reeves_nelson_hires_lawyer_who_demands_retraction_from_si_for_pointing_out_reeves_was_jerk/s1_127_10211290Reeves Nelson hires lawyer who demands retraction from SI for pointing out Reeves was jerkhttp://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/reeves_nelson_hires_lawyer_who_demands_retraction_from_si_for_pointing_out_reeves_was_jerk/s1_127_10211290http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png